Posts by olvidado

7

Try this quiz

by fullofdoubtnow in

jw
friends

we just took this quiz.

we actually got 10 questions completely right, between the four of us, and a couple of others partly right.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/4694490.html.

Oh, I got 11, good mark. But I was surprised I could remember the 7 sacraments of the catholic church, it is incredible how the thing you learned as a child are still in your mind, even if you dont realise it.

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

Nice to meet you Isaac. You ask me about how controlling they mormons are. Well I just can tell you about my experience. You have to take into account that I am from Spain and, although the main rules are the same in all the world, the situation is not the same in a place like Spain (where mormons ara a very small minority) as it is in other places like Utaht (where most people are members of the church). You have commandments to obey, you are expected to do things in the way you are told by the church, but (at least in Spain) I didnt feel watched by the leaders of the local branch of the church like I feel controlled by the elders in the Watchtower Society. I say again that the situation in Utah will likely be different. I tried to live according to the standars of the church (no caffe or alcohol, Sabbath day, tithing, etc) but I knew I could have cheated with these things without anyone realising. But from the beginning I felt something really different between the two groups. First, I remember a misionary speaking about the bad associations he had at school and how he changed and looked for good friends while in hidgh school. I said something like: "Ah, at high school you found friends who were members of the church". And he told me: "not, they were not members, but they were good boys". I asked something like "and what do your parents think about that?". And he said that they were OK, his friend went to his house and his mother was always kind with them. For me it was something strange. Used to the idea of JW that all the people outside the organization were bad associations, it was weird for me people in a church who had friends outside the church and there was no problem. (But I say again that this missionary was from California, where I suppose that they have a more "liberal" point of view). Another point that surprised me in the mormon church was when I got to know some people excomunicated. There was a family in my branch who always came with its daughter, about thirty years old. I never felt people dealing with her in a different way that with the other people in the branch. One day, several of us went to have dinner and this girl went with us. In the middle of the conversation, she said that she had to go out the restaurant because she had to smoke. As a member, you are supposed to not smoke and I asked somebody about this girl. They told me: "Oh, no problem. She is excomunicated". OOOhhhh, I couldnt believe. Somebody excomunicated from the church and you felt no difference in the way others dealt with her. As I said before, in other places with majority of mormons the things could have been different. Maybe the mothers wouldnt like their children playing with other children not members of the church, or mormons deal with excomunicated in a different way. In Spain it was different. But, of course, the JW in Spain avoid frienships outside the organization and shun members of the family (I still remember the elder in my circuit who was like a hero for everybody because he hadnt spoken to his disfellowshipped daughter for ten years even if they lived in the same town. And he was so proud of it!!!!) I heard once the president of the church encouraging the members of being friendly with other people. I read an article in a church magazine dealing with making friendships with people outside the church. As I said, there could be people in church shunning or avoiding not members, but at least the official position of the church was one of tolerance. I never saw that kind of articles in the Watchtower or Awake. That, for me, makes a great difference. Umm, this sounds a bit apologetic of the church, I dont want to sound like that. Maybe for somebody coming from a different background, the church can be controlling. But after my experience of almost 15 years of the supercontrolling Watchtower society, the mormon church was very relaxed in that way.

142

The Need To Question Atheism

by The wanderer in

jw
friends

the need to question atheism this need to question atheism stems from the fact there are some individuals.

on this board that subscribe to such.

the questions stated are not for some.

olvidado

I am not sure about how God is and which relationship he has with us, but it is hard for me to think that there is no god. There is something inside me which makes consider the idea of a universe without god as something difficult to accept. Some people would say that this feeling is the "seed of faih" planted by god in every human soul; other people would say that this is just a psychological mecanism to cope with life, an impression we created inside us. I dont know, and for the moment, after so many years thinking about how I had to please god, it is a matter I want to put it off. Thats why I say I am agnostic, because I like the idea of a god father, but I dont want to spend more time thinking about how he is, what he wants, etc. Anyway, I know people who say that they believe in god because they think the moral values must be based on the existence of god, that withour god, people behave with no moral limits. You know, describing atheists as bad people, without control. I think that is an extreme point of view. I think you can have moral values on a humanistic base, without god playing a role in your way of behaving. I think it is a very symplistic point of view considering the believers of god as moral people and atheists as the amoral ones.

36

Our Neighbours are learning!

by fullofdoubtnow in

jw
friends

we live in a block of 6 flats, with communal security doors at the front and back.

apart from between 7am and 10am every day, when the trades entrance button will open the front security door, no one can get in here unless they have a fob to open the security doors with, or unless one of the residents lets them in.. the jws were just at the front security door, obviously getting their hour in after the morning meeting.

they don't ring our bell, they know better, so they were ringing the other bells.

olvidado

Oh, Linda, I didn know about your chemitherapy. I hope that everything will be OK for you, you look like you are a very positive parson and you have a lot of support from your friends. I would like to put theses funny little drawings other people put in the text, but I still dont know how to do it. Anyway, I wish you the best.

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

And Ksput, it is true, I am a very sloooow learner, but I am the kind of person that, when I learn something, I do according to what I have learned.

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

"Too many people have a strong need to define themselves according to some belief system and flail about in a panic when leaving their religion, and look for another to fill the void of their abandoned belief." I think, in certain way, it is this what made me join the Mormon church. Even if I was just an inactive JW, all my frienships went from a lot to almost zero (I was a bad association, of course). Now I had lot of time to think. The stories you hear at the KH are about people who leave the truth and got involved in drugs, alcoholism and all that stuff. I was a bit worried about that, and I wanted to fill the void with something. And what did I find? the mormon church. In any way, I think my belonging to this church was like a kind of transition towards the "real world" (I never felt extremely attached to its teachings or to the people at church, even if I got to know some very nice people). But now I think this transition was finished and I can live with no absolute truth, just live in the way I think it is the best for me.

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

nvr, I didnt want to tell you off for using Spanish, it was not my intention. I think it was very kind of you using my language to make me feel comfortable in the forum. But one of the very first things I did after leaving JW was studying English and moving for one year to England and that is something I am very proud of, being able to communicate in a different language. If I knew kazajo? (is that the language spoken in Kazakhstan?) I would say something, but I dont know it at the moment. It is enough for me to struggle with Geman (the most difficult language in the world, I have to say).

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

Thanks nvr for your welcome. I know that it is time to move on. Almost all my life I lived with the feelings of having answers to the great questions of life (where do we come from? what can we expect after death? etc.) provided by Watchtower Society or the Mormon Church. Now I have to learn to live with no answers at all. But at the moment I am happy of that. Even if I dont get these answers in this life, it is good to live and enjoy the things I have. I appreciate your words in "spanglish", but I know that the rule in this forum is to use English. After a whole life following rules, this small rule is not very difficult for me to obey. My English is not very good, but I will try to be as clear as possible. Thanks again nvr.

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

Thanks Linda for your welcome. Yes, I know that there was at least one mormon on the forum. Even if I belonged to these two organizations, I dont consider them as equal. To me, the Mormon church is really a "church", but the Watchtower society is more like a cult for me (that´s my oppinion). These last four years as a mormon I never felt compelled to avoid relationships with people out of the church, I felt encouraged to study my degree at university (something I would not have done if i stayed in JW), I wasnt asked to shun anybody, etc. Well, maybe if I was a mormon in Utah the things would be different, I dont know, but in Spain there is clearly a difference between the two groups. Thatis why I dont feel the need of asking to be removed from the Mormon church. Anyway, I am glad to be where I am today.

15

Ex-jw, inactive mormon, and now what?

by olvidado in

jw
friends

after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that i asked an username and used it once),i have decided to participate in this.

i am spanish, i have been living in a small town in the north of spain almos my whole life (except one year in leicester-england), but currently i am lving in germany.

my story: i have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy.

olvidado

Hi everybody, after 4 years of having lurking through this forum (except one time that I asked an username and used it once),I have decided to participate in this. I am Spanish, I have been living in a small town in the north of Spain almos my whole life (except one year in Leicester-England), but currently I am lving in Germany. My story: I have been brought up in a catholic family, but the religion was never important in my familiy. It was just a matter of holidays and special events in church (baptisms, marriages, funerals and all that stuff). At 17 the Jehovahs Witnesses came to my door and I started to study with them. At 19 I was baptized in a District Convention. I was very sure that this was the truth and almost inmediately I started to pioneer, firtst auxiliary pioneer and, when I got a proper job, a regular pioneer. At 21, ministerial servant. After two years as a regular pioneer I gave up because of all the stress I had (working full-time, helping non-believing family who didnt support me, the tasks related to ms, etc). I went on being auxialiary pioneer almost regularly. I had several doubts about the organization, but I learnerd to pull them on the back of my mind and, on the surface, I was the perfect JW. When I was 31, I couldnt cope with the doubts anymore and decided first to give up being ministerial servant (january 2001) and later on attending meetings (I was regularly attending meetings until may 2001; then, I stopped completey and never went back, except for two weedings of friends). It was a relief for me, I didnt feel guilty for reading other stuff not controlled by the Watchtower Society. I read a lot about religions that year. In may 2002 I met the missionaries on the street. I started attending meetings in the Mormon Church and in august 2002 I did two things: I wrote my letter of disassociation and, two weeks later, I got baptized in the Mormon Church. After 4 years of being an active Mormon in my branch (teacher in Sunday school, counselor in the priesthood presidency - I dont know how to say this in English), several months ago I decided to leave this church again, but I dont feel I need to resign, just fade. Currently, I still attend some Sundays, while in Germany, but in august, when I will be back home in Spain, I think I will leave completely. Now I can say that I am agnostic, I tend to believe in Christ, I am very curious about him, but I am opened to any ideology. But I think that two organizations are enough and I dont want to belong to any organized religion anymore. I would like to study about religion more, I think it is a fascinating topic, but my "theocratic career" as a member of an organized religion has finished. Well, nice to talk to you and I hope that I will participate often in this forum.